An Old Dog Trying Old Tricks

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #11:

Try It

Zoe has been in a tumbling class in conjunction with her cheerleading for the past few months. I never did tumbling, but it was always my dream to be able to do back walkovers and back handsprings. I never had much flexibility in my back, though, so I never got to the point where I could do a very good walkover, and I was always too scared to do a back handspring on my own. I could do them with a spotter, but I couldn't get over the mental blocks to try them without support. My high school gym teacher was a gymnastics coach, and he worked with me for a while on back handsprings, and then he said, "You're on your own now. You can do it, you just won't!" and he was right. I never did it. 

When I was a dancer, I really wanted to be able to do a scorpion. 

With zero back flexibility, I had to work so hard. I would use a towel and wrap it around my ankle and pull my leg up. Then I would inch my hands as close as I could to my foot and hold the pose as long as I could. I did this everyday for weeks until I got to the point where I could hold my foot without a towel. It was incredibly uncomfortable for me, but I was so proud of myself for being able to do it! Then I saw a photo of myself doing a scorpion, and I was so disappointed. I looked horrible! My back had no arch. It was like I'd gotten stuck in some weird pose as a result of an accident. There was nothing graceful about it. 

My poor daughters have been cursed with my lack of flexibility (their dad's genes don't help much, either). Each of them has been in dance since age three, but after all these years, they are still like 2x4's. Other girls slide into splits or fall into back bends like it's nothing. Not the Brittish girls. We can't even touch our toes. We make dance look painful.

With Zoe being in tumbling, Daisy has gotten a little jealous, and they've become a bit competitive. I try to keep it in check, but sibling rivalry can be hard to curb. They've both been racing to be able to do a back kick-over (back walkovers would be ideal, but kick-overs come first). They started from doing bridges from the ground, but now both of them can do a back bend. I'm super proud of them for being able to do this. They both worked so hard to get there. Now they are both on the brink of kicking over, but Zoe has the advantage of being in a tumbling class.  Zoe has been practicing her kick-overs on a wedged mat for the past couple of weeks. Last night, she did it on the floor for the first time. I wish I could have caught a picture of her face after she kicked over. She was so shocked and proud of herself. It was the cutest thing. 

Watching her try over and over again, I realized I was shifting my body as if my movements could force her over. It was kind of like playing old school Nintendo and moving the controller around like it would help your game. Then I started thinking about my own tumbling abilities. I remember attempting a cartwheel a few years ago and being completely shocked that my body couldn't do it. In my mind, sure! I can cartwheel all day! But in real life, I can't do it anymore. My girls always ask me to play hands up, stands up with them, and I don't even dare. I'll surely break my neck. 

But today, in the privacy of my own home, I decided to see if I can still do a bridge. I know a backbend ain't happening... like, ever again, but surely I could do a really bad bridge from the ground. 

So I tried it. 

In my bedroom.

With no eyes to see.  

That wasn't good for my self-esteem, I'll tell you what. I just sorta laid there with my butt up and my weight on my shoulders while trying to figure out how to even get my hands where they were supposed to be. 

Since I was already suffering private humiliation, I decided I might as well try the splits, too. I don't know how long it's been since I did the splits, but, of course, in my head, I can do them. 

You guys! I'm not as far as I would have thought. I am pretty close on my left splits, and I bet if I started stretching, I could do them in a week. At age 37, I'm not sure where that gets you in life, as there are a lot of other skills that are more pertinent at this point in adulthood, but heck! Maybe it's good to have a party trick. If nothing else, maybe I can embarrass my kids. "You stop that right now, or I'm gonna bust out the splits!" 

They'll be all, "No, Mom! No!"

And I'll be all, "I'm going! This is happening!"

And BAM! 

(I'm gonna try it!)

In the Eye of the Hurricane

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #18:

Quiet

One thing I'm really appreciating about having all my kids in school is that I occasionally get to experience "quiet" in my home. When I was younger - in my teens and in my pre-kid, young adult years - I didn't really like "quiet." Quiet equaled boredom. But I didn't really need quiet back then. Now it's something I need to experience in order to clear my mind. My brain needs quiet, my heart needs quiet, and my soul needs quiet. 

For me, quiet isn't as much about the lack of noise (though I appreciate that aspect of quiet); it's mostly about the lack of chaos. I just need things to be still once in a while. 

The past few weeks, we've been really busy. I hate to even say that because I'm actually "anti-busy," so I've been living in a manner that's contrary to what I want my life to be. But it's true... we're busy right now. On Friday, I had to do nine drop-offs and pick-ups. Nine. That's what I do right now. I drive the people, feed the people, and then drive the people some more. I also take the people to get tested for COVID. All the dang time. 

So quiet? Yes, please. I need that. 

(Extra credit to anyone who understands the title of this post).

A Few Lovable Things

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #34:

Love It!

Here are a few random things from around my house that I love:

Alligator Steve

Unless he's actually Crocodile Steve. We forget what he is...

I think every house should have at least one weird piece of decor. This is ours - a souvenir from Scotty's mission. As you can see, Steve can easily accommodate seasonal accessories, making him a versatile staple in our home. 

Love it!

Course Ground Black Pepper

I recently discovered that this is my pepper of choice. I've used fine ground pepper and fresh ground pepper, and they are okay. But this is my pepper. 

Love it!

Red Bucket-y Thing

I bought this red bucket-y thing from Walmart last year - I don't remember why - but it has been so useful. I haul all sorts of stuff in it and use it every day. 

Recently, someone brought me a thank you gift for helping them with something, and it was wrapped up in a black bucket-y thing that's slightly bigger than my red bucket-y thing, and I was so excited! I use the black bucket-y thing all the time, too! 

Love it!

Plate Racks

You might remember that Scotty and I made some plate racks for our kitchen wall last year. I always look forward to changing them up with every season, and I still have a bit of a shopping problem when it comes to plates. 

It's been a super fun wall embellishment this past year. 

Love it!

Costco Fan

Scotty and I bought this fan from Costco at the beginning of the summer, and it has been such a  great investment. This thing packs a bunch, and for those of us who truly suffer in the heat, this fan brings much relief. 

I also have an awesome neck fan that my friend Lynsie gave me. It hangs around my neck and blows air in my face. I wish I could wear it to church, but it makes just a little too much noise for that. I use it plenty of other places, though!

Love it!

Just Another Day at Ross

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #30:

What The?!?

I'm always amused by the strange things I find at Ross. Take these shoes, for example:

Wow! Just wow! They're real life Barbie shoes! And possibly made from upcycled stemware.

Anyway, I enjoy a good trip to Ross. It's always feast or famine. There's either nothing to buy or way too much to buy. Earlier this week I popped into Ross for a few minutes while I was waiting for another store to open, and they had so much great stuff. Really. I had to practice a lot of self-restraint because they had some really cute fall decor like fabric pumpkins (that I don't need), garlands (that I don't need), and wreaths (that I don't need). I also fell in love with a set of Mason jar shot glasses for $3.99. They were so cute with their tiny handles and whatnot, and I knew my kids would go crazy for them.

But I walked away empty-handed because I'm trying to play catch up with the budget. And where would I put 8 tiny Mason jars with the cutest little handles of all time?

I am strong!

So strong!

While I was perusing the shoe section, I stumbled across these boots:

They seemed pretty normal at first glance, but then I noticed the strange little zippered pouch on the side…

What the?!?

What is the purpose of the little pouch? What does a person put in such a pouch? Is there a market for boots with pouches?

I googled “boots with zipper pouch,” and found lots of different boots with various secret pockets and mini receptacles. I personally don’t want to bend over to get my ID or phone charger out of my shoes, but apparently there are people who think that’s a good way to live. 

I guess if I happened to have boots with a zipper pouch, I could use them for storing the following:

• Vending machine money
• Ibuprofen
• Chapstick
• Ear buds
• Extra batteries
• Mints
• Dental floss
• Skittles
• Spare car keys

But I’ll be propping my foot up on a bench and asking passers by to retrieve my belongings from my pouch for me. “Hey, kid! I need you to get me a ketchup packet out of my boot. Help an old lady out!”

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #9:

Frozen

Yesterday I wrote about doing "food inventory" around my house so I could make a meal plan. We keep a pretty decent food storage on-hand, and it has served us well during times of financial struggle and impromptu potlucks (it is my goal to always be "potluck ready"). I don't believe in hoarding food, but I think it's wise to have a good amount of food available for emergencies and plain old convenience. 

In addition to our regular refrigerator and pantry, we have a storage room and two freezers (they are on the small side). The freezers fluctuate in their fullness. Sometimes there's no space to spare and other times they're near empty. Right now they're in between. 

Exclusive look inside one of our freezers

Here are ten things I like to freeze:

1. Fruit 

I have tons of frozen fruit in my freezers. During August, I picked a bunch of peaches and froze them in smoothie portions. I usually treat peaches with Fruit Fresh so they don't turn brown. I also froze a bunch of raspberries. Whenever I have bananas starting to turn brown, I peel them, break them in half, and throw them in freezer bags (I once tried slicing them and putting them on a cookie sheet to freeze before putting them in a bag, and everything in my freezer ended up taking on a banana flavor. I've never tried that again as I wasn't a fan of Totinos Party Pizza with a hint of banana). 

Any time we have fruit that we might not eat before it goes bad, I freeze it. Strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, mango, whatever. I've even frozen watermelon (it goes okay in smoothies, but it's not our favorite). 

2. Veggies

I buy some frozen veggies from the store, like corn and peas, but I also chop and freeze some of my own. Mostly peppers. I don't ever want peppers to go to waste, so I freeze them in small portions to use in soups or omelets. 

I also throw spinach in the freezer if it's about to wilt. It's great to add to smoothies, and I've used it in quiche, soup, and spinach dip.  

I've put things like diced carrots and celery in the freezer before and used them in soups of other cooked dishes. They're not the greatest texture, but it works.

3. Onions

I know onions should fall under veggies, but I wanted to give them their own spot because I love having frozen onions at the ready. I hate chopping onions, so any time I have to chop one, I throw some of it in a small container to freeze (if I use freezer bags, I double-bag them to prevent flavor contamination). It's so nice to just pull out a little cup of chopped onions for any recipes that call for onions. I wouldn't use them for anything requiring fresh or raw onions, but they are nice for when the onions are going to be cooked. 

4. Meat

I could give meat its own blog post because I have so much to say about it, but I'll try to keep it condensed. 

Two staples I like to have are ground beef (and/or turkey) already browned and chicken that's already cooked. I hate having to cook meat to then add to a dish that needs more cooking. For example, I don't want to cook chicken and then make a chicken pot pie with it. That's like cooking twice. Ew. No. So I always have cooked meat ready to go. I often buy rotisserie chicken to cut up and freeze. 

But I also like to have raw meat available. 

About once every three months, I buy a large batch of chicken. I freeze it in several ways. I cut some into bite-sized chunks (for skillet or sheet pan meals), I cut some into thin slices (for fajitas or massaman), I cut some for grilling, and I freeze a few full breasts. 

I also like to freeze meat in marinade so it's ready to go on the grill when it's thawed. Some marinades don't freeze solid, but I looked that up online and found that it's okay because it still reaches a safe temperature for long-term storage. 

We usually have a few roasts, some fish, and some ribs or brisket in the freezer as well since we buy it when it's on sale. 

5. Baked Desserts

I'm an advocate for "bake once, eat thrice." I rarely bake without doubling or tripling the recipe. Right now I have cornbread muffins, banana muffins, chocolate zucchini bread, and pumpkin cupcakes (unfrosted) in the freezer. I also have two batches of cream cheese frosting (works wonderfully). We just finished off the last of our frozen cookies, but I'll replenish them soon enough. 

6. Bread

I always have an assortment of bread and buns in the freezer. As with desserts, if I make rolls or bread, I always double or triple the recipe so I can freeze some. I also always have flour and corn tortillas in the freezer. 

7. Cheese

Grated cheese freezes rather nicely (block or sliced cheese goes crumbly, but it works in a pinch). I freeze both pre-grated cheese and cheese I grate myself. For example, if we are leaving on a week-long vacation, and I'm worried our cheese will go moldy while we're gone, I'll grate it and throw it in a freezer bag. 

8. Freezer meals

I don't make a lot of freezer meals - I'm more apt to freeze meal components rather than full entrees - but every now and then, I prep extra dinner and freeze some of it. Enchiladas, lasagna, soup, pulled pork, etc. 

9. Actual frozen food

Of course I have the standard dinosaur chicken nuggets and whatever other frozen food I've picked up from the grocery store for our desperate moments. We don't eat a lot of frozen convenience food, but we keep a bit around for "those days." We eat a lot more of it in the summer when I'm overwhelmed with all the people in my house all day. 

10. Odds and Ends

I have a few odds and ends in the freezer. Every few months I make a quadruple batch of refried beans in two InstantPots and freeze them in small containers. I use them for 7-layer dip, burritos, and for a snack for my kids. Sometimes they'll come home from school and eat a big scoop of refried beans with chips. 

Recently I tried freezing buttermilk, and that worked really well. I poured it in muffin cups (which make 1/2 cup portions) and then transferred it to bags after it had frozen solid. I liked doing this because it's so much cheaper to buy buttermilk in a large batch, but I never use it all. It's also not something I use enough to routinely keep in the fridge, so having frozen portions has been great.

I'm always up for trying to freeze something exciting and new. This year I wanted to try freezing tomatoes since canning supplies are hard to come by, but I have so many tomato products in my storage room that I decided to not worry about it. It's not too late, though. I might still give it a go!

What We're Eating

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #7:

Menu

On Monday I went through our pantry, fridge, storage room, and freezers and made a list of what we needed to use up. We have a lot of food. It’s great! But sometimes I need to clear it all out and start fresh, so I make a list of everything we have and then make a list of meals we can prepare with minimal purchases from the grocery store. 

Here’s our dinner menu for the week based on that inventory:

Monday - Hamburgers, Doritos, and Crenshaw melon.

Tuesday - Trout, scalloped potatoes, and Crenshaw melon.

Wednesday - Beef stroganoff and green beans.

Thursday - Chicken Margherita skillet (trying this new recipe recommended by Cousin Cyndi).

Friday - (Game Night) Grilled island chicken, baked potatoes, and whatever fruit or veggie appears in the garden. Possibly tres leches with raspberries (if I have time to make it early Friday morning, as chilling is key!)

Saturday - We might be going out with friends, but otherwise, brinner (breakfast for dinner). 

Sunday - Pot roast sandwiches, finish off all the half-bags of chips in the pantry, and whatever fruits and veggies are available in the garden.

All I should have to buy this week are lemons and mozzarella.

What We Grew

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #5:

List

This summer, corn aside, we had a pretty successful garden. At least... the most successful we've had in a long time. Every year, our garden is a little different depending on what we want to grow and what's available at the nursery. 

Monday’s Harvest

Here's a list of what we grew this year:

Basil

Pros: I love the smell and taste of it. Sometimes when I'm in the garden, I'll pick a sprig just to sniff.  

Cons: We don't use very much of it, and my kids don't like it. Since we don't use much of it, it ends up spreading out and taking up a lot of garden space, and it goes to seed. 

Bell Peppers

Pros: I love having peppers on hand when I need them. I always freeze a bunch of diced peppers to use for soups, omelets, arc in the winter.

Cons: Like other crops, there are always too many when I don’t need them and not enough when I do.

Butternut Squash

Pros: They are delicious. I love baking the squash with butter and brown sugar. I also love making this soup, and this skillet. 

Cons: They are a pain to prepare (though microwaving them for five minutes makes them easier to peel and cube), and our plant only produced ONE this year. 

Cantaloupe

Pros: They're great to have on-hand for BBQs and picnics. 

Cons: The potato bugs usually eat them before they're ripe enough to pick. One variety that we planted this year, I didn't like the flavor of, but I don't know what kind it was (possibly ambrosia?) Also (and this is true for all vining plants, but I won't list this for each one), the plants take up a ton of room and make it hard to walk through the garden and access other crops. Next year we might forgo cantaloupe and just grow crenshaws (see below).

Cucumbers

Pros: I love having cucumbers for salads and veggie trays.

Cons: Sometimes they are bitter. Ick! And there are either ZERO cucumbers when you need one, or FIFTY when you don’t. Often I'll go looking for cucumbers and can't find any, and then three days later, there are ten cucumbers the size of my arm. They are really good at hiding. 

Corn

Pros: Fresh corn on the cob is one of the best things on earth.

Cons: We only got about eight ears. It’s hard to weed around corn in garden boxes, and the stalks aren't fun to remove from the soil (if we had a traditional garden we could probably till them, but in our boxes, they need to be fully removed),

Crenshaw Melon

Pros: They are so yummy! They are very similar to a cantaloupe in flavor, but I like them better.

Cons: They’re ugly. Some of ours got attacked by potato bugs before we got to them. 

Jack Be Littles (baby pumpkins)

Pros: They're just so cute and fun! They are a decoration that you grow!

Cons: My kids want to claim them all, and I don't want to let them have them. They want to carve them and put their paint on them, but no! Don't touch my little pumpkins. 

Jalapenos

Pros: I appreciate having a jalapeno when I need one.

Cons: I only need about two jalapenos a summer. That reminds me, I should dice and freeze the two that I’ll need in the winter.

Parsley

Pros: Like everything else, it's nice to have parsley on-hand. I never like to buy parsley. It’s an ingredient I will always skip unless it’s in my garden.

Cons: I need parsley more in the winter than in the summer (usually due to soup).

Pumpkins

Pros: It's so fun to harvest your own pumpkins in the fall.

Cons: The pollination window for pumpkins is so short that most pumpkins never make it. We ended up getting three from two plants - not even enough for one per kid.

Strawberries

Pros: It would be awesome to have enough strawberries to snack on and freeze for smoothies. We got starts from my neighbor, and they filled in the garden box beautifully with runners.

Cons: We only got three strawberries off them. We'll see what they do next year when they aren't newly transplanted. They traveled pretty far outside of the garden boxes, and they need to be thinned.

Tomatoes (Romas, Celebrities, and Cherries)

Pros: We had lots and lots of tomatoes. Enough that I put a box out on the curb once or twice a week with a FREE sign. 

Cons: I'm the only one who eats them. Also, when we would have big rain storms, it would accelerate their growth and cause the skins to split, so for a while, we had really ugly tomatoes. 

Watermelon

Pros: I'm super proud of any watermelon that comes from our garden. 

Cons: It's rare for us to get any watermelon off our vines, so it's just a waste of water and garden real-estate. 

Zucchini (and yellow squash)

Pros: Summer squash can be used in so many ways. I use it in several sheet pan dinners and casseroles and sautéed as a side dish. 

Cons: We get sick of it fast, and, like cucumbers, they hide, so you think you don't have any and then the next day, they are as big as your thigh. Also, the plants get tiny, itchy scratches all over me when I pick the zucchini.

----------

Usually at the end of the season, I'm more than ready to be done with the garden and take a break, but this year I'm not. I wish I could tear out the existing plants and start over right away. I look forward to spring, and in the meantime, I'll work on getting the garden area cleaned up little by little and finish some of the landscaping that still needs to be done around it. 

I Would Drive 300 Miles

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #4:

Miles

Yesterday we drove the 300 miles home from our vacation in Saint George. 

We went with some of Scotty's siblings and stayed at the resort that we went to back in June. Here are a few quick highlights:

Hot tub time. 

The house we stayed in had a private hot tub, and I think the kids were in and out of their swimming suits and playing in the hot tub no less than five times a day. A few of them even ended up in there in their clothes. They also stayed in the hot tub for about an hour during a thunderstorm.

Floaties galore.

My sister-in-law, Amber, bought everyone their own floaty. The turkey leg ended up being the most popular. 

Cookies to decorate. 

Oh, it was messy! The kids (and Amber, who is known to have some toddler-like tendencies) had food dye on their hand, and their mouths were all different colors, but they sure loved it!

Games.

We had lots of games to play - everything from Play Station to arcades to role playing card games 

Golf.

I sat this one out, but the "big boys" all played a round of golf early Saturday morning. 

Crafts.

Amber kept the kids busy with all sorts of things to paint. Ceramic unicorns, sun catchers, jewelry boxes, pumpkins... Eva said, "Why do you always make us paint?" while simultaneously reaching for another paintbrush. 

Scooters. 

Our little nephew was recently diagnosed with a disease called Legg-Calve Perthes. He hasn't been able to walk for a while, so his parents found him a seated scooter that he could use to move around on while we were on our trip. 

When Nicky and I got our scooters from the clubhouse, my nephew scooted outside so he could see my sweet ride. I asked him if he wanted to race me on our scooters. He said no. His loss! I mighta let him win. 

Baby snuggles.

We all got plenty of snuggles from our little two-month-old niece. Even Scotty participated - which is always a shock because Scotty doesn't hold other people's babies. 

S'mores.

The kids had a fun time roasting marshmallows. We haven't been able to do that this year because of the drought (fire have been banned all summer), so I'm glad we got to squeeze in some roasting time before summer officially ended. 

Snacks.

We had a lot of food. A lot. I won't even try to describe the quantities of food to you because there are no words. Let's just say Amber shouldn't be set free in a Costco. 

We had a really great time, and now there are no vacations on the calendar, which makes me feel like I need to get something scheduled ASAP. 

Scootin’ in Style

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #29:

Journey

Over the weekend we took a little vacation to Saint George with some extended family. We stayed at the same resort we went to in June. 

Yesterday afternoon, Nicky and I rented mopeds and cruised around the town. I confess, I didn’t really want to do it, but Nicky begged and begged and even paid for his own rental. Being 14, he had to be accompanied by an adult, and with the weight limit on the mopeds, I was the only option. 

After getting some direction from the employee, we cruised down the street and hopped on a trail system and spent an hour driving out and back before we had to return the scooters. 

It ended up being a blast! The scooters were nice and mild - never going more than 20 mph, which is just my style! I went max speed through a couple of rain puddles, which is the perfect level of adventure for me, and I went fast over a couple of bumps just to test my wild side. 

The area we started in was quite elite - full of resort properties and fancy landscaping. Then we ended up in what I jokingly call the “slums of Saint George” - which is where we crossed through a graffitied tunnel littered with beer cans and then saw a man peeing off the trail (nothing we don’t run into daily where we live). 

I really enjoyed my little scooter journey and some one-on-one time with my son. I’m happy to report that his moped driving skills reflect a balance of responsibility and fun. I think he’ll make a great driver of legit street-legal vehicles a year from now!

Where We Are Now

September Reading Challenge - Prompt #32:

Phase

Several years ago, a friend of mine who’s a little bit older than me was in a similar life stage to where I am now. I remember her telling me that she loved the ages of her children, and she felt like she was in a really enjoyable phase. I was kind of surprised by that because, to me, there didn’t seem to be anything great about having children in the 6-14 range (hers were about 9, 12, and 15). 

Now that I’m in that phase, I understand. There are a lot of things about my kids’ current ages that are hard, but there are also some things that are really great. 

For example:

Everyone can put on their own shoes (most of the time), zip their own jackets, and buckle themselves in the car. We are diaper, sippy cup, and stroller free! Everyone is in school. Our conversations are getting more intellectual. No one runs out in the street anymore. We can go different ways in the store or library. I can be out of arm's reach at the pool. They can feed themselves when necessary. The older ones like to eat places other than McDonald's. They sometimes give me some real competition in board games (Nicky always beats me at Azul). I don't have to get babysitters very often anymore. They can put on their own sunscreen (with a few exceptions). They can fulfill responsibilities around the house in a way that is sometimes actually helpful. They can articulate their feelings and explain their problems. And, more often than not, they sleep through the night. 

Like I said, this phase has its challenges, but I feel like I'm better suited for this phase than I was for previous phases. I'm going to try my best to enjoy where we are now since I have some notions about what’s to come later (I’m going to have three teenage daughters). I need to live it up while I can!

9:15 on 9/15

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #6:

9:15

With the anticipation of this prompt, I put a reminder in my phone to go off today at 9:15. 

At that time, I was parked at an intersection waiting to turn left and listening to The House at Riverton (or The Shifting Fog) by Kate Morton. 

I could end my post there, and that would be the short version. Those of you who want the short version can move on now, but if you want the long version, here it comes:

Yesterday I checked Daisy out of school to take her to get her first COVID vaccine (Happy 12th Birthday!) I picked her up a little early so we could also go to lunch. She wanted to go to Zupa's, and we ended up having a little extra time before her appointment, so we popped into Burlington. We both picked a few things to try on, and I ended up with a shirt that I couldn't decide whether I should get. On the one hand, it was only $9, and it was cute for fall. On the other hand, I don't need any new clothes, and it would require an undershirt such as I don't already own, so a $9 shirt was quick to become a $20 shirt. 

I decided not to get the shirt, and I stashed it on a rack somewhere in the store. 

Shame on me, I know. I'm not proud.

A short time later, I started regretting not buying the shirt, and this morning after I dropped my girls off at school, I figured I would check the Burlington hours, and if they were open, I'd stop in quickly and buy the shirt. They were open! So I went in and went straight to where I'd left the shirt. It wasn't there. So I scoured every place an employee might have returned it if they'd found it on the wrong rack. 

I never found it. And I can't help but wonder if it's bad karma for not putting it back where I got it.  

And that, my friends, is why I found myself at the intersection at 9:15 on September 15, 2021 - driving home in self-defeat.

Twelve

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #25:

Unexpected

Baby Daisy 2009

Today is Daisy’s 12th birthday. I can’t believe she’s that old. 

We didn’t find out what we were having when I was pregnant with Daisy. I took a gender-neutral outfit to the hospital. We kind of thought we were having a boy. I went through a few different nurses before I delivered, and the final nurse was adamant, by the baby's heart rate and behavior during labor, that I was going to have a boy.

When she was born, Scotty calmly said, “It’s a girl, Britt!” I still remember his exact tone of voice.

What a beautiful, unexpected surprise! 

We ended up not finalizing her name until the last morning in the hospital. I was leaning toward Daisy Cecelia, but the last night in the hospital, I had a dream that I kept calling her Daisy Cleora, and I woke up knowing that's what it was supposed to be. Cleora was the middle name I wanted to give her (after Scotty's grandma who passed away from leukemia), but Scotty's cousin had used the name, and I didn't want to infringe on her name or be a copy cat. I never knew Cleora, but what I know of Cleora, if she had any pull, she was rooting from beyond the veil for this girl to be named after her. So Cleora it is! (and I talked to Scotty's cousin about it, and she was fine with it).

During the first few weeks of her life, I would look at her and just beam. I remember holding her when she was a few days old and whispering, "Thank you for coming to our family." I was smitten! I didn't expect, that by the time she could walk, she and I would butt heads like angry mountain goats for the rest of time. Sure, someday. But not so early on and so consistently. 

Butting heads aside, I sure love her. She's navigating all the wilderness of pre-teen girl life, and sometimes it's hard for me to step back and let her be. The funny thing is that everything she does that I struggle with is stuff that I did at that age. She's just like twelve-year-old me. 

One way that Daisy is a little different than I was at her age is that she has become very nurturing. There are times when Eva is completely out of control, and Daisy is the one who gets her calmed down. Daisy hasn't always been this way. In fact, as a young child, she had very little interest in dolls or babies. She was never one to want to hold and cradle a newborn, but now she has developed this wonderful ability to work with young children. 

Daisy is really funny and always gets her friends laughing. She enjoys doing arts and crafts. She loves music and knows every song. I'm always asking her, "How do you even know this song?" She is stubborn and a little clumsy. She puts together the worst outfits. She has a pleasant singing voice that I hope she'll be confident enough to develop over the next few years. She has amazing hair that she might appreciate someday. She's a good student, and I always hear great things about her from her teachers. I'm so grateful for this oldest daughter of mine - my unexpected Daisy Cleora. 

 

Life Lessons I’m Learning

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #20:

Learning

I have a deep love for learning. In fact, "love of learning" is my top strength in the VIA Survey of Character Strengths.* 

Just because I love learning, though, doesn't mean I learn quickly or easily. There are some lessons I've been learning all my life, and they still haven't quite sunk in. 

Here are three lessons that I've been learning lately:

Lesson #1: It's okay to change your mind.

It's such a simple statement, but it's something I often forget. Also, I'm a bit of a prideful person, and sometimes changing my mind is equivalent to admitting I was wrong. Who wants to do that?

But it really is okay to change your mind. Sometimes more knowledge is key. Sometimes life circumstances change. Sometimes you gain a new perspective. Sometimes there is not right or wrong - there are just choices. 

And just as it is okay for me to change my mind, it's okay for other people to change their minds as well. I need to stop allowing that to be a point of criticism.

Lesson #2: People don't care how much you know

One of the side effects of loving to learn is that I want to share it all. At times, this is appropriate and wanted, but other times, it's not. 

I took a class a while ago where I chimed in with "what I know" repeatedly, and I thought I was contributing to the discussion. Now I look back, and I'm actually embarrassed. No one likes a know-it-all, and frankly, I made an ass of myself.

How I make other people feel is far more important than showing them how much I know. I'm trying to be more careful in what I share, and sometimes that means literally biting my tongue. 

Lesson #3: No one connects to "perfect"

I think most people have some element of perfectionism they battle, and I am no exception. But we need to remember that "perfect" is an illusion, so really, if we are striving for "perfect" we're really looking to deceive people. 

We are far more likable because of our imperfections. Who wants to hang out with someone "perfect?" It's exhausting and bad for the self-esteem. Give me the gal with the messy van and the mascara rings under her eyes any day! She's my person. And she may not be "perfect," but there are a lot of things that she rocks at!

Lesson #4: You can't pray yourself out of it. You must pray yourself through it.

Prayer is actually one of my favorite topics to study. I feel like I am always evolving through prayer and coming to understand it at a greater capacity. Several weeks ago, I was petitioning the Lord for help with the "same old thing" I'm always needing help with, and this was my answer. The Lord is not going to take the thing away. He is going to get me through it. 

Over the weekend, I read the book Conquering Fear by Harold S. Kushner (a Jewish Rabbi of note), and he had so many fantastic insights regarding prayer. One quote I liked was this:

You will ask, Why? but God says, I will not explain or try to justify. Instead of an answer, I will give you an agenda of things to do. I will give you all the strength, all the courage, all the faith you need to rebuild and go on with your lives. And that will be the miracle. 

It reminded me of Anna's song from Frozen II, "Do the Next Right Thing," which is my go-to song when I get overwhelmed by life (a lesson in and of itself). 

—————

I have more lessons that are ever pressing on me, but these four have earned their own spot in the Notes app on my phone. 

*Here are a couple of posts where I've mentioned the VIA Character Survey:

Discovering and Nurturing the Best Within You

On Learning

All in a day’s work

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #28:

Today

It’s after 10:00 p.m. at the end of a long Sunday. Most Sundays are long, but today felt a little longer. It’s one of those days where you think back on your morning and wonder how it’s still that day.

Here’s how today went…

(Yes, this is going to be an in-depth description of my day. Brace yourself).

I woke up around 6:45… or maybe it was past 7:00… I don’t remember. It was so long ago. Zoe always wants a German pancake for breakfast on Sundays. We need to make two pancakes to feed our family. That takes 10 eggs. But I also needed to save a few eggs for Daisy to make cupcakes. Scotty did egg inventory. We were good to go!

(Admit it… this is everything you’ve ever dreamed of!)

Scotty made two German pancakes. I cleaned up some leftover messes from Daisy’s “friend” birthday party yesterday. I thought doing crafts with 12 pre-teens would be easy - I could just set out a bunch of supplies, and they would entertain themselves while I made a fabulous dessert to take to game night.

Instead, I ran from girl to girl… “I need help tying this!” “I need to glue this!” “Can you help me cut this?” “I need more teal paint!” “Why isn’t there any glitter?” I was dripping in sweat while all the girls complained about how cold they were.

There was no dessert for game night.

But that wasn’t today! That was yesterday! So I need to get back on track.

Today was Daisy’s “family” birthday party. Daisy wanted to have a potato bar and snow cones, but I’ll get to that later.

First, let’s go back to the part where I was cleaning up messes. I scooped craft supplies by the armful into a garbage bag. Then I needed to move a folding table and chairs to the back yard for Daisy’s family party this evening.

Back inside, we ate the aforementioned German pancakes. Syrup everywhere. It’s tradition.

Then Scotty and I started ushering our kids one by one to the shower. Even though they are getting older, getting them showered continues to be a chore. Nicky is fine, but the girls all still need help. Daisy can shower on her own, but sometimes she doesn’t get all the shampoo and/or conditioner out of her hair. Sometimes I’m not sure she washes her hair at all. And then she needs help brushing her hair. 

Zoe and Eva still need help turning on the water. Then they get soap in their eyes eight times each. They need supervision washing and conditioning their hair. If I don’t check up on them, they sneak out of the shower without washing. They need help getting out of the tub so they don’t slip and fall. I feel like they should be beyond all this, and yet… this is still my life.

We got all the kids showered and then Scotty had 15 minutes before his first meeting of the day started, so he showered in 30 seconds flat and ran out the door.

I went outside to pick a few cherry tomatoes for a salad I was going to make later. Then I showered and got myself ready for church. I did Eva and Zoe’s hair. And then Eva reminded me that I’d promised to make her a choker necklace. She was right… I had promised. So I took a jewelry-making break and before I knew it, my whole kitchen was covered in arts and crafts… very reminiscent of the mess I’d just cleaned up. 

Sigh…

(You’re loving this, right? Please say yes. Please tell my my life is the most fascinating thing you’ve ever read about on internet). 

I found myself tying and gluing the knots of a dozen bracelets. then I had to break up a few fights between Zoe and Eva regarding best friend necklaces and who-really-knows. 

Eva wanted to make a card for Daisy for her birthday. Then she made a card for each of her primary teachers (which I later noticed were left on the floor of the van). Zoe made necklaces for her primary teachers and a friend. 

All this before we even went to church.

At 10:45 Scotty got home from his meeting and we went to church at his Mom’s ward. While I was getting ready for church, I ripped both armpits of my shirt. How does this happen? I dunno. But that’s pretty typical of me. Rip my shirt before church? Sure. Just another day in paradise.

Scotty’s mom and step-dad spoke in their sacrament meeting. Then we headed to our ward. 

I rearranged the primary room and got everything set up for singing time. We worked on singing “Choose the Right” and played handbells (this is one of my favorite activities - the kids seem to enjoy it. But it’s not something we can do very often because it only works with songs with no sharps or flats, and I only have bells for one octave, so I was excited to get to use them with CTR). By the end of singing time, I was drenched in sweat. I had a ten minute break, and then I had to go to nursery for singing time… where I sweated some more.

The theme for today is sweat. Just wait… there’s more coming…

After church was dismissed, I came home and made the kids the lunch of champions… dinosaur chicken nuggets!

Then I made myself a grilled ham and cheese sandwich because I was craving a panini thanks to cousin Cyndi and her ice cream shop that serves paninis… I sneaked a peek at her panini photos during church. 

(Cyndi opened an ice cream shop! For real. She had a dream, and she’s loving it! Isn’t that awesome?)

Anyway, we ate lunch. Everything got messy on top of already being messy. I loaded some crock pots with chili and cheese so they could warm up for Daisy’s party. I also went outside and filled a cooler with drinks and ice. The oven was still hot from making chicken nuggets, so I had Daisy start making her birthday cupcakes.

I’ll save you a few paragraphs of reading and just show you a photo of the outcome…

Okay… so, like showering, Daisy still needs some help with baking cupcakes. We opted for a do-over, so I asked Daisy if she wanted to use a lemon cake mix I had on hand or if she’d prefer pumpkin cupcakes. Pumpkin was her choice. The recipe I use for pumpkin cupcakes uses 8 oz of pumpkin to make 12 cupcakes. I needed 24, so I had to double it, but the cans I have are 29 oz, so obviously I tripled the recipe as not to have pumpkin go to waste. Because I am a crazy person.

Oh, but I forgot we were out of eggs! And not only that, I didn’t have any cupcake liners left. So I had to ask my mom for cupcake liners and eggs and, oh shoot! Candles too! Because I hadn’t even thought about birthday candles!

That’s when Scotty left home for another meeting. 

At that point I was stalled for a bit because I needed eggs and my mom was going to bring me some. I decided to lay down on the couch so I could cool off (the sweat!!! I just can’t!!)

My girls all started fighting, and I realized I was in over my head trying to get the party ready by myself while Scotty was gone, so I begged my mother-in-law to come save me. She came and got my girls, and while I was outside bidding them farewell, my neighbor Daniel, who’s about 4-5 years old, came walking down the street and wanted to show me his quarter. I went across the street to see his quarter and make small talk about piggy banks and bubble gum machines, and then my mom pulled up with eggs, cupcake liners, and candles.

Back in the house I went to bake three batches of cupcakes. At 4:30, I needed to start baking the potatoes, but I still had a pan of cupcakes to bake for 20 minutes. Just then, Scotty got home, and I had to confess that I was in trouble. Scotty ran the cupcakes up to his mom’s house to bake so I could get the potatoes in the oven. Then I got to work on making a pasta salad. 

Somewhere in there I knocked a can of lemonade on the kitchen floor and had to clean that up. This is very like me - to be in crisis mode and then spill a lemonade. 

Story.

Of.

My.

Life.

Anyway, I made a pasta salad, got a bunch of potato fixings put into bowls, basted the potatoes with melted butter, and made a double batch of frosting for the cupcakes. Scotty got the backyard set up for the party.

I remembered that yesterday, Daisy had made a sign that said, “Daisy’s party out back” to indicate to her friends to go through the gate on the side of our house. It ended up being a downpour right at the time of her “friend” party, so we had to do everything in the house. I found her sign tucked in the closet and went outside to hang it up, figuring we might as well use her sign after all her hard work. I was going to hang it on the garage, but then I worried people wouldn’t see it once cars were parked there, so I hung it in front of our front door. Then I realized I was locked outside because I’d hung a sign over my front door. Luckily I was able to get in through the garage and didn’t have to go yell over the fence to Scotty that I was locked out. 

You’d think I was stressed enough, but no. I needed more! So I decided to put some marigolds and basil in Mason Jars to put on the tables for Daisy’s party. I went out into the garden and cut what I needed. Then I decided that sunflowers would be nice, too! So I cut some sunflowers to put in jars as well.

Guess what comes with sunflowers? Ear wigs! 

I’m not even going to tell you the rest of the ear wig details. But if that’s not enough… I split the back of my skirt while getting sunflowers. 

Eventually our family arrived. We ate. We talked. Daisy opened presents. We made snow cones. I served cupcakes. The whole bit. 

I was drenched in sweat. I snuck in the house twice during the party and laid under the swamp cooler.

After everyone left, I cleaned as much as I could tolerate, but as I lay in bed now, I have two sinks heaping with dishes. And every surface of my counter and table are covered in stuff. 

Scotty and I put the kids to bed. While I was in Nicky’s room saying prayers with him, I kept catching a whiff of something gross. I went around his room sniffing everything to see what stunk. Later, I smelled something stinky again right as Scotty climbed in bed with me. I sniffed him but couldn’t distinguish whether he was the culprit. Finally, I had to admit that it must be me. The smell was everywhere I went, and I’d sweated enough to fill a 50 gallon drum. I took my second shower of the day for good measure and then played a quick round of Wingspan against Scotty on our phones (I won). 

Now here I lay at 11:14 p.m. utterly exhausted and still in disbelief that today is the same day I went to church.

That was my day.  Hope you enjoyed this report of my exciting life!

Twenty Years

September Writing Challenge - Prompt # 2:

Anniversary

I've been blogging for 16 years, and I've never really written anything about 9/11. Today, it's been twenty years! Twenty! I can't believe I'm old enough to throw around phrases like "twenty years ago." 

On September 11, 2001, here's what was going on in my life:

-I was 17 - a senior in high school.

-I was on the dance team.

-My boyfriend (now husband) was one year into serving his mission in South Carolina (interesting fact: he flew to South Carolina on September 11, 2000. The airport procedures were very different then).

-I worked at a donut shop.

On that Tuesday morning, I had dance practice at 6:00. Near the end of practice, somehow we learned of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center (it happened at 6:45 our time). At that point we just thought it was a plane crash. There wasn’t a lot of information yet - it was so fresh. But then the second plane hit right before school started. 

In my first period “foods” class, we sat glued to the TV the entire time. All conversations were abuzz with speculation about what was going on.

My next class was seminary. My teacher, Brother Taylor, was prepared to receive his fearful, questioning students. He met us with words of comfort and love, then he had our class kneel together and pray for the people in the towers, for the firefighters, and for our country. He shared some thoughts about angels who watch over our nation, and then he turned some time over to us to bear our testimonies. 

Throughout the day, numerous students were checked out of school, so I called my mom (I was one of very few students with a cell phone) and asked her if she’d call the school and check me out, too. People left the school without consequence. There was no expectation for a normal day.  

Back then, missionaries weren’t allowed to call home, and they especially weren’t allowed to call their girlfriends. Scotty called that day.

A page from Scotty's mission scrapbook

On September 11, and during the immediate weeks afterward, I felt things I’d never felt before, but I didn’t truly understand what had happened. I didn’t really know what the World Trade Center was or why it would be a target for terrorism. "Terrorist attack" wasn't familiar vernacular to me, and I’d never even heard the phrase “twin towers.” I had no idea how big they really were or how many people came in and out of those buildings everyday. There were so many things my young mind didn’t comprehend about the magnitude of this event. 

A couple of years later - when I was married - I was watching a documentary about 9/11, and I saw footage of people jumping from the towers. I knew people had jumped, but I hadn't seen any of it. As I watched the people fall, I had to sit down. Then after a moment, I had to turn off the TV. To see what I hadn't seen in 2001 gave me pause, and that's when I realized how little I really understood about 9/11 when it happened. 

Now that it's been twenty years, what do I write? I have nothing. There's nothing I can say that properly memorializes the nearly 3,000 people who died. There's nothing I can say to make up for my ignorance at the time, and there's nothing I can say to make up for the ignorance I still have. 

There is so much I don't know about conflict between nations. There are so many types of suffering I've never experienced first-hand. September 11, 2001 showed me some of the greatest darknesses humans are capable of. And yet, I was still protected enough and distant enough to not truly have to see. After twenty years, I remain there - partly with gratitude, and partly with guilt. 

On the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, my words fall short. They always will. 

But I do remember. 

Cornstalks R Us

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #15:

Thrifty

Sneaky me. Sometimes I add a prompt to my September writing challenge with an ulterior motive. When I made this year’s list, I chose the word, “thrifty” anticipating that I could utilize the prompt to take a trip to the thrift store and buy something fun. Maybe I’d find something cool to refinish. Or maybe I’d find something amazing that didn’t need work! Plates for my plate rack! A new dress! Or maybe a book or two!

But ya know what? I don’t feel like going to the thrift store! 

So that’s a bummer. I set myself up for a thrifting adventure, and now I don’t even wanna do it. Maybe by the end of the month, I’ll get the thrift store bug and need a do-over for this prompt. But right now… I just really don’t have the desire. Mostly because I’m trying to save money after a summer of frivolous spending. I got a bit out on control there for a while. 

Do I spend money as a healing mechanism from dealing with parenting stress? Yes. Yes, I do. 

Anyway, even though I'm avoiding the thrift store, I've still been thrifty lately. Not in all aspects of life but in many. To be thrifty, after all, is to "use money and other resources carefully and not wastefully." I'm pretty good at that... when I want to be. 

As you know, Scotty and I tried growing corn for the first time this year. Things started off beautifully!

Looking at this, you may be thinking we planted our corn way too close, but we followed the recommendations of the square foot gardening method, which is to plant the seeds 4" apart - in other words, 9 per square foot. 

The corn sprouted quickly. We planted it in phases so it would be ripe at different times. The stalks developed silks and tassels. I made sure to assist them in pollinating and fancied myself a corn mating extraordinaire.

Everything was going great until one day, I went outside and was devastated to find this... 

It looked like a tornado had gone through our corn patch!

We tried out best to upright the stalks, but they were just too weak. In the end, this is all we ended up getting...

Plus about four more ears that we harvested one at a time and just cut the kernels off and added them to some sautéed zucchini with peppers and onions. It was a pathetic, little harvest, but gosh darnnit! We grew some corn! And despite how small the ears were, they tasted so delicious!

Next year we are going to try planting our seeds a little deeper, and we will try a few square feet with more spacing. Our stalks were just really thin, so we need to figure out how to get them thicker and stronger. 

I didn't want our sad, humble corn patch to go to waste, so I pulled out a bunch of the stalks to use for fall decor. They are messy, weak, little stalks and hardly anything you'd rave about on Pinterest, but you know what? I grew them! And I'm proud of them! And heck! It's thrifty!

I used to decorate with corn stalks every year, but it's been a really long time since I last used some. I used to get them from my grandpa’s garden, but he fell into poor health and has since passed away.

If you want to use some yourself but don't have something to tie them to, here's my little tip. I hammer something into the ground - I've used dowels, PVC pipe, and even old broom and shovel handles - and tie the stalk to it. 

This year I used these metal thingamajiggies from a storage shelf:

Whatever I can find in my garage!

Thrifty, eh?

The part that's not so thrifty is the ribbon that I bought from Hobby Lobby and insisted on layering. 

But I was also able to use that ribbon to spruce up an old wreath to hang on my front door and to wrap around some gifts.

Justified.

The cornstalks are a lovely complement to our dead lawn, and sometimes chunks of the cornstalks blow away and get stuck in the fence between our yard and the neighbor's, but oh well! I nurtured them from seed! Just let me have my cornstalks, mmkay. They're thrifty!

Sneaking in this sunflower photo...

because I grew it, and I'm proud of it!

Plus it’s relevant because there are

cornstalks behind it.

Now that we've attempted to grow corn and had some trial and error, I'm excited to try again. Hopefully we'll have more success next year. I'm kind of hoping for something like this:

Okay, not really. Candy corn? Ew. But now I want to go to Disneyland where this photo was taken, and that's not a very thrifty choice for our current circumstances.